Adventures on the Bickleton Highway

I had a sudden and rare opportunity to be gone overnight on May 27,  so I threw my bed in the truck with a cooler and other assorted necessities, grabbed all my camera gear and hit the road going east.  A sweet lady in Glenwood told me how beautiful the road to Bickleton from Goldendale, Washington was this time of year, and suggested  the east county should be in my repertoire (and sweetened the pot with some gas money!) so off I ran in the afternoon that day.  Coming home again by 10:30 pm on the 28th, my cards all full and my batteries all empty, I had around 40 GB of new images to download and process!  Here are a few, and for now I need to get back to some other projects for people, but you will be seeing more from here over time.  Enjoy!

To get to this area, head to Goldendale on Highway 97.  Coming north on 97 from the Columbia Gorge, go to the second main exit for Goldendale and turn left.  Go approximately 1-2 blocks and turn left on a small road with a green sign for Bickleton, right before Amy’s Attic on the left.  Gas up before you leave Goldendale though… it is 35 miles to Bickleton and the next gas station!

This batch of images is all from the 28th after I woke up in my truck off on some little side road.

As I drove along,  this big thunderhead began to build in the NE sky.

 

You know me and my clouds… soon i was really looking around for special things to put under the clouds for photos!

Eventually I made it to Bickleton itself, immediately after the rain and hail hit town leaving the roads wet and shiny.  I had a wonderful Salmon burger and salad at the Bluebird Inn, and Melba, the owner, was really fun to talk with.  I learned that this place is well known in the area for its Burgers especially… and while I was there a couple had lunch after driving over from Goldendale.  I also learned there is a great photographer who owns the Market and cafe across the street, but sadly for me it was closed on Wednesdays, so I shall have to return here another day!  There is a Carousel museum in town as well, and bluebird houses and bluebird trail maps AND bluebirds everywhere!

Melba also told me about the lovely old church in town (more images of the outside will come along later), and about a driveway with lovely flowers further up the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a good many more untold stories from this one day, and they will have to wait for another post another day, but I just could not wait to share these with you now!   Hope you enjoy as well.  This last image from Wednesday was taken along Dot road, which heads south from the Bickleton Highway out of Cleveland just west of Bickleton.  This is one of about 3 routes a person can take back down to the Columbia River, and it was a lovely drive through the windmill farms and then a drop down through a canyon to a section of Old Highway 8, which then takes you to Highway 14 near Roosevelt, Washington.

Thank you for your time, and feel free to click on the images… many of the best ones will take you to my gallery page where the prints will be available for purchase, while the stuctural shots of the Bluebird and the church will simply take you to an attachment page on this blog.

I hope you take the time to check out my galleries, the link is also in the sidebar menu near the top.   Come find me on Facebook or Flickr, as well!